Obscenities

Plenty of workplaces have employees who use obscenities. What makes them sexual harassment?

Obscenities in the workplace have the potential to create a hostile work environment that facilitates sexual harassment. To know when the line has been crossed, consider conduct and intent. If the harasser directs obscenities at (for example) one specific gender, this could be sexual harassment.

Consider these examples.

• The only female employee in an office claimed, "sexually offensive language (from co-workers and supervisors) permeated the work environment." Workers would use derogatory language directed toward women, such as words only used toward females, or obscenities involving the female anatomy. She resigned in 2004 and filed a complaint in 2006, claiming that the sexually offensive language created a hostile work environment. She won. This case showed that language alone, even when not directed at someone in particular, can create a hostile work environment.
• An employee of the NBC show Friends was subject to offensive language and gestures while the writers discussed the show's scripts. She filed a lawsuit, but it was thrown out. As with the first example, these obscenities were not directed at the woman present. However, in this case, the lawsuit did not result in the same conclusion. The judge found the workplace environment did not interfere with the employee's duties or create a hostile environment.

These cases illustrate an important point: For cases of potential sexual harassment, the context always matters.

To learn more about Sexual Harassment Prevention Training For Supervisors visit our Cal/OSHA Sexual Harassment Prevention Training For Supervisors Online Training web page.